PsittaScene August 1998 by World Parrot Trust

New Global Campaign

or theParrots

Editor Rosemary Low, p.a.Box100, Mansfield,Notts., UnitedKingdom NG209NZ

It'scrunchtimefor theparrotsof theworld. Aftergracingour planetfor millionsof years,theyhavesuffereddreadfullyat our hands,andespecially sooverthepastthirty years. Air transportationhasallowedvastnumbersof parrotsto betakenfrom thewildanddeliveredto therichernationsof theworld. Habitats arebeingdestroyed at aneverfasterpace,culminatingin the horrendous forestfiresthat haveafflictedsomanyparrotrange countriesin thepasttwoyears,notablyIndonesia, BrazilandMexico. Mostcountrieswhereparrotsoccurhavelargeinternalmarketsthat consumethebirdswhenexportis nolongerpermitted.

CONTENTS NewGlobalCampaignfor

theParrots

2-4

PalmCockatoos 8-9 Crestfallen

10-11

European Tradein wildcaughtGreyParrots 12 Letters

What'sUpDoc?

16-18

BookReview

Parrotsin theWild

Ofthe333speciesof parrot nearly100arethreatened,as will berevealedwhenthe 'ParrotActionPlan'(revivedand largelyfundedby theWorld ParrotTrust)is publishedlater this yearby IUCN'sSpecies SurvivalCommission. Theplightof manyparrotskept in captivityaspetsor asaviary birdsneedsto beaddressed. Ourfascinationwith theparrots hascreateda situationwhere birdsareoftenboughtona whimby peoplewith noreal interestin bird keeping,or any aptitudefor this rewardingbut demandinghobby. Filmssuch as'Paulie'andfrequent appearances by parrotson televisionresultin increased demand. Aswepointedout in theMay1998PsittaScene (THE WELFAREOF PETPARROTSand

some'Guidelinesfor Parrot

TheWorldParrotTrustdoes notnecessarily endorse any viewsor statements made bycontributors to PsittaScene.

Rescue'), keepingevenone parrotis likebeingresponsible for a demandinghumanbaby for perhapsfifty years. The generalpublicmustbe educatedto understandthe importanceof makinga cool andcarefuldecisionabout owninga parrot. If theygo ahead,theymustthenbe furthereducatedonhowto makea successof their venture. Notonlyfor their own satisfaction,but alsofor the welfareof theirbird.

Sowhereto begin? Perhapsby remindingreaders onceagainof thestatedaimsof theWorldParrotTrust.

Aimsof theTrust The survivalof parrot speciesin thewild, andthe welfareof captivebirds.

Theseaimsarepursuedby: . . . Educatmg thegeneralpubhc onthethreatsto parrot. . Opposingtradein wild-caught parrots. . . . Preservmg.and restormg parrothabitat. . Studyingthestatusof parrot populations. . . . En~ouragmg ~heproductIOn of avIary-bredbIrds. . Creatinglinksbetween avicultureandconservation. . Promotinghighstandardsin thekeepingof parrots. . Supportingresearchinto veterinarycareof parrots. All of theseaimsarecovered, webelieve,in thewordingof our new'Parrotsneedhelp' logo. Wegoonto saythat parrotsneedhelpto survivein thewild, andto thrivein our homes. Thisembraces all our . aimsin a simplestatement,and thedesignof thelogois strong andeffectivein bothredand black,asshownhere,andalso in onecolouronly. Theparrotfigureis not intendedto beanyparticular bird, but to representall the parrots. Thenextquestionis: howto usethis newlogo? Firstly,we will useit onmuchof ourWPT 'literature',to helpgetacross ourconcernsfor theparrotsto

A WORLD

PARROT

TRUST

CAMPAIGN

www.worldparrottrust.org differingaudiences,Weneedto win theattentionof thegeneral publicandmakethem understandthatparrotsarestill beingtrappedin thewild,and transportedin inadequate and oftenfatalconditionsto internalandexternalmarkets. Thisbeingso,theymust understandthattheonly parrotstheyshouldbuyare thosethathavebeenbredin captivity.

Thrivingin our Homes Tohelpaviary-bredparrots 'thrivein ourhomes',weneed to makesurethateverynew parrotowneris carefullyand completelyeducated aboutthe needsof theirbird. Nineyears agowepublisheda veryplain little leafletentitled'Who'sa luckyboy,then?'andsincethen wehavedistributedover 200,000copies,mostlyto pet storesandvetsoffices,but also to bird showsandsimilar

events,Andof course,thereare manyothergoodinformation leafletsbeingproducedby otherorganisations, together with morebooksthanyou wouldbelievepossible, Unfortunatelytheverypeople leastqualifiedby temperament andintellectto keepa pet parrotarethosemostlikelyto avoidreadinganythingonthe subject. Weneedto reach thesepeoplesomehow, andwe believethis canbestbedoneby providingpetstoreswith free leaflets.

SponsorNeeded Wearesoonto publisha new leafletto replaceour old one, andwouldlike to hearfromany potentialsponsorswilling to contributetowardstheprint cost.Ourworkingtitle is 'The HappyParrotGuide- essential readingfor newparrotowners', andweintendto makeit availablein Englishandseveral European languages.

/ 1 PARROT BUREAU

i!"

1-#1~"

/ 9;;fr8irI,ftf / ,

'~lgt1J1 HELP.

.. , to survive

in tIJe wild

",totJuiJ.f! Inourhomes. =;;',,-.=.,=

T',W..'d"""'l'~" k,f..th,,"~,..,,.f,lIm pm"""<'"inl.,..ild,..d",..,If ".d"'d.., '"pti..','nl" "f.nd" n,'d,.."",,,.. p"j&.",~",,' ""d',,,",d ÂŤ""'""""P""""""" Th,."."",."dU" ,.n","of""p""ib""""""", ..""th"o"~"wfll" p""",th"""",...,;,-"""'..',.."'",,m.,,,,',', pollti,,'""""""",.".. ,.."""

W"""'.",m"It"", ""'"y"""""'p",'",d" ".d"'..p"u"""'P,~".""".d"""'n""""""" "." th"""'p"mlly"'"".'n,..d'","'., Mnl", '1"""" O".","p"'"th"""'dly i/,.."",.., 'd..'d, ,.".rb"'.g'"'d,."",,,...d'"""p""'" f"" """,,..

..iII"'p ""mll",.th" f",m' ofll'" W,'m,'f..n"""., '"PI'"" from,1I""",'od,.'d..,, .nd ..,..",ti..,

""""""p""",hI""y,..k,"""n,',.nd",,""km ,,""'""' now,"'" ""p"go , , p""'" 'PARROTS NEEDY""P,.",""",...,..ild,,""""""""""', O"".It"""""It.,'m~'",..l<Jp""ntl'"""'"

ThisBlue-throated Macawis vocallydefendinghis nesttree.Heneedsthehelpof all usif his speciesis to survivein thewild. Photo:ChatlesMunn& EduardoNycander

ThreatenedSpecies

CANADA

AUSTRALIA

Wehavehighlightedthe dangersfacingmanythreatened species,suchasLear'sMacaw, which,unlesscircumstances changeandit is properly protectedfrom poachingin Brazilfor shipmentto irresponsiblepeopleinsideand outsideBrazil,will surelybe virtually lost to thewild in the samewayasSpix'sMacaw. Aboveall, weinsistthat the interestsof thebirds themselves mustbeparamount, havingpriority overourhuman concernsaboutmoney,prestige, andotherfrailties. Solet usseewhatwecando with this newlogoandits slogan PARROTSNEEDHELP.

Asa statementof fact,it cannot bedenied. Theydo needhelp, bothto survivein thewild, and to thrivein ourhomes. Letus find manywaysof puttingthis informationacrossto the media,andthroughthem,to theworldat large. Wehavea responsibilityto thebirdswe admireandrespect,to improve their prospectswhereverthey maybe. parrotworld. Wehaveasked aviculturistsandbird business peopleto 'put somethingback' to helptheparrotsin thewild. Theyarenot nicelycoloured Weintroducedtheconceptof animateddomesticdecorations. 'responsibleaviculture',which Theyarenotguaranteed to talk. hasbecomea commonlyused Theywill not makea parrot expression, andhasreceived ownerwith a drearypersonality supportfrommany aviculturists. Fromour seemmoreinteresting. They cannotbeleft alone,without beginningin 1989wehave anykind of mentalor physical opposedtheimportationof wild stimulation,for twelvehoursa parrots,arguingthat the developedworldhadenough day. Theyarewild animals birdsto provideaviarybred thatwehavepartially youngto satisfyall reasonable domesticated.Keepinga pet parrotis incrediblydemanding, demands. but if carriedoutwell,canbe incrediblyrewarding. Havinga

NationalBranches Parrots? Weanticipatethat ournational branches will makeuseof the newlogo,providingan additionallinetranslating 'parrotsneedhelp'into the appropriatelanguage where necessary. Theymayalsofind waysof emphasising theinternational natureof WPT,usingthis new 'flags'designwhichfeatures individualnationalbranches andtheirflags. Thisstriking andcolourfulversionof our basicWPTlogowill beusedon a newT-shirtto beintroduced

inSeptember. .

WhatAreThey?

petparrotmeans - whether the

A LongRunning

Campaign

Ourintentionis to maintainthis newcampaignfor theparrots for a periodoftwo years,with theclearobjectiveof making thegeneralpublicachievea freshunderstanding about parrots.

Manifesto

NewIdeas

Wepublishedour'Manifestofor Aviculture'andcirculatedit aroundtheworldto makea firm statementin favourof avicultureasa sincereand rewardinghobbyenjoyedby millions.

OverthepastyearstheWorld ParrotTrusthasintroduced severalnewthoughtsto the

Thispublicationhasproved helpfulto aviculturistsin New Zealandandelsewhere.

ownerlikesit or not - sharing responsibilityfor all thewild parrots,andthethreatsto their continuedexistence.

ThisfinelookingBlueandGold Macaw livesin averylargeflight aviaryin Karunda, Australia.

=1;. ...tosurvivein the wild ...to thrive in our homes

A WORLD PARROT TRUST CAMPAIGN

CapeParrots ReportonthesecondCapeParrotBig BirdingDay,(25Apri/1998) A Reportby COLLEEN T DOWNS andCRAIG T.SYMES, Universityof Natal,Pietermaritzburg

INTRODUCTION Thenominateraceof theCapeParrotPoicephalus robustusrobustus, soonto bedescribedasa newspecies,is endemicto SouthAfrica, andhasa discontinuousdistributionfrom theAliceregionof the EasternCapeto theKarkloofregionof KwaZulu-Natal (Harrisonet al 1997).A smallerrelictpopulationis foundin theZoutpansburg of Mpumalanga whichwasprobablyalwaysrare(Boshoff1990; Harrisonet aI1997).Thecorehabitatrangeis mosaicAfromontane forestpatches(Wirminghaus et al.in prep.)yet foragingincludes thornveldandbushveld,andcoastalandduneforestareas(Skead 1964,1971;Boshoff1989;Wirminghaus et al. in prep.).CapeParrots arereliantonPodocarpus spp.Yellowwoods), thedominanttree speciesin theAfromontaneforests,for food,socialisingandnest sites(Skead1964,1971; Wirminghaus et al. in prep,).Theyare secondarycavitynesters,preferringa nestsitein a naturalor previouslyexcavated cavityat a 'heightof 6 15m (Wirminghaus et CralgSymes al. in prep.).Destructionandalterationof foresthabitats,shooting of birdsnearcropsandorchards,andremovalof birdsfrom thewild for thecagedbird trade,aremajor factorsresponsible for theobserveddeclineof CapeParrotpopulations. ,

TheCape ParrotislistedinAppendix II ofCITES andasVulnerable in theRedDataBook- Birds(Brooke 1984)andis pendingfull speciesstatusrecognitionwhichwill furtheraffecttheir conservation status (Clancey1997,Wirminghaus et al.in prep.).Thedifficulty of censusingtheCapeParrotis because it is a highlymobile,foodnomadicspecies,with a highfrequencyof interforestmovements, particularlywhen fruit availabilityis Iow(Skead1964,1971;Wirminghaus et al.in prep.).Movements of CapeParrotsalso occurduringdry periodsto accesssitesof freewater(Wirminghaus et al. in prep).Theyareveryactive

andvocalin theearlymorning andlateeveningbutaround middaytheyareusuallyquiet andeasilyoverlooked(Skead 1964,1971; Wirminghaus et al. in prep.),Traditionalcensusing methods(Lawes1992;Verner 1985)arethereforenotfeasible becauseof themobilityof Cape Parrots,andtheir inconspicuous habitsduring warmerperiodsof theday (Wirminghaus et al.in prep). Consequently it wasdecidedto conducta nationalcensus wheretemporalvariationwas controlledto onedayonly,and all localitiesweremonitored simultaneously. Thepilot Cape ParrotBigBirdingDaywasheld on 5Apnl1997andwas successful,andthesecondon 25April 1998.

Materials and Methods Localitiesandareasof all forest patches(Afromontane and Coastalforests)werelisted from theAliceregionof the EasternCapeto theKarkloofin KwaZulu-Natal (Cooper1985, 1992).Permission from land ownersor conservation bodies wasobtainedto visit these variousareas.TheCapeParrot Daywasadvertisedin the press,andconservancies Bird Clubsandfarmerswerenotified andrequestedto assist.Groups of observerswereassignedto specificareasandsentdata sheets.Usewasmadeof contactsfrom thefirst Cape ParrotBigBirdingDayand enthusiasm wasobtainedfrom all spheres.

A fragmentof yellowwood forest,inhabitedby CapeParrots, withclearedlandusedfor agriculturein thedistance.

Initially groupsof observers wereassignedto forestpatches whereCapeParrotshadbeen recordedin thepastfiveyears, andwhereCapeParrotswere recordedin thefirst CapeParrot 5

forestpatches.TheCape Parrotsseenfeedingonpecan nutsat Nqaduwereharassed by a pairof Redbreasted Sparrowhawks Accipiter rufiventris.In KingWilliams Town,EasternCape,Cape Parrotswereobservedfeeding onWildPlumHarpephy/lurn caffrum.

BigBirdingDay(Wirminghaus et al.in prep;variouspers. comm.).Otherforestpatches whereCapeParrotswere expected to occurwerethen selected.Observers were assigned vantagepointsto recordthepresence or absence of CapeParrots,andto record numbers.Movement and activityrecordingsrequired numberof birdsanddirection of flight. Observations commenced at sunriseand ceasedat sunsetasCape Parrotsaremostactiveat dawn andthefirst fewhoursafter sunrise,andat duskandthe lastfewhoursbeforesunset (Wirminghaus et al.in prep.).

Discussion Isolatedlargeflocksof theCape Parrotwereobserved throughoutits range.Coreareas wheretheyareseenreliablyor predictablyweremonitoredin this censusaswellas elsewhere. Recentobservations suggesttheformerareasmay form importantnucleifor remainingCapeParrot populations(Wirminghaus et al. in prep.).Cooper(unpubl.data) recorded58CapeParrotsat Ntsikeniforestduringhis forest surveyin theearly1980s.Such areasneedto behighlightedas focalconservation areasfor the conservation of theCapeParrot andindigenousforestin South Africa. Effortsarebeingmade to highlightNqaduTradingPost asanimportantareafor Cape Parrotconservation. This includestheofferto purchase from theowner,andthe implementation of ecotourism venturesin theregion.In doing soconservation measures of this speciescanbe implemented. Thehigh proportionof juvenilesat Nqadu(>half)suggeststhat

Sizeof flocks Sizesof flocksseenranged fromsinglebirdsandsmall groupsof 2 to 9 birds,to large groupsof 11to 52.NearNqadu forest,Umtata,a groupof 52 birdswasseenfeedingon pecannuttrees.At leasthalf of thesebirdswereidentifiedas juvenilesin theirfirst year.

Activity Mostrecordingsof CapeParrots wereof interforestmovements in theearlymorning(06hOO to 08hOO) andagainin thelate afternoon(16hOO to 18hOO). FewCapeParrotswererecorded at othertimesof thedayat any of theobservation points.Cape Parrotswereseenpreeningand perchedon snagsin various

Rosemary LowvisitedtheCapeParrotlocationin 1997.Alsopresentare:Stacey Gelis,Sharynne Hearne, MikePerrin,CraigSymes, ColleenDowns.

breedinghadbeensuccessful this season.TheCapeParrotBig BirdingDaywasplannedfor this timeof theyearbecause juvenileflocksareconspicuous, forestfruit suppliesareusually low,andCapeParrotsare requiredto makesearching flights from theforestsin flocks. Mostsightingsof CapeParrots weremadeof birdsflying to or from forestpatchesandtheir roostingsites.Theirdirection of flight wasnotedto prevent therecountingof individuals. Previousestimatesof the southernraceof theCape ParrotP.r robustuspopulation includethoseof Skead(1964) whoestimatedthepopulation in theeasternCapeat 600 birds,andBoshoff(1989)who estimatedfewerthan1,000 birdsremainingin thewild. Skead(1964),however, indicatedthat CapeParrot

Results In KwaZulu-NataI, theformerTranskeiandtheformereasternCape64man-hourswerespent observingandrecordingon 25April 1998.A totalof 54groupsof observersparticipatedwith 33 groupsof observers stationedin KwaZulu-Natal (Weza, Creighton,Bulwer,Boston,Balgowan, Karkloof, Richmond andDargle),13in theformerTranskei(Ntsikeni,BenCairnieforest,MbotyiandUmtata) andeightin theformereasternCape(Hoggsback, KingWilIiam'sTown,Isidenge). Table 1 Numbersof CapeParrots seenin relation to time of day on 25 April 1998 Area

formereastern Cape

Observation sites

Manhoursobserved

Numberof Cape Parrotsseen

morning

afternoon

morning

afternoon

162.3

149.0

180

107

formerTranskei

123.8

74.0

KwaZulu-Natal

345.5

209.4

TOTAL

631.6

432.4

348

179

populationsin theformer Transkei.werelessplentiful.On thepilot CapeParrotBigBirding Day,1073man-hourswere spentobservingat 66 observationpostsandoverall, 163CapeParrotswere accountedfor.A total populationin theTranskeiof 199CapeParrotsat forestswith areasgreaterthan50ha estimatedby KeithCooper (1980s),recentfiguresand sightingsfrom theEasternCape (includingformerTranskei), and KwaZulu-Natal (variouspers. comm.),andthetotal populationcountedon theCape ParrotBigBirdingDaysuggest that 1,000maybea somewhat optimisticfigurefor Cape Parrotsremainingin thewild today.It is unknownwhether CapeParrotsarestill persecuted asa resultof them raidingpecannut orchardsin theEasternCape. Thesuccessof this day indicatesthat this methodof censusingis viablefor a highly mobilebut corehabitat-specific species.In futureyears, however,eachforestpatchwill requireobservers,Furthermore, therewereproblems interpretingdatasheets.In futureCapeParrotBigBirding Daysobserverswill be requestedto fill in a more comprehensive andmodified datasheetasaccuratelyand preciselyaspossible.Thiswill ensurea uniformstandardfrom all participantswhichwill assist in theinterpretationof data. Theareasof theforestsgreater than50hain theformer TranskeiandKwaZulu-Natal havebeenwell documented (Cooper1985;1992),but the

areasof theformereastern Capeforests,however,still needto beinvestigated for futuredataprocessing. In futureyearstherelative proportionsof forestwhere observations occurredwill be calculated. Fromthis,more accuratepopulationestimates canbeextrapolated. Thesuccess of this dayandthe interestof birdwatchers, farmersandconservancies suggestit becomes anannual event.NotonlydataonCape Parrotswererecorded,butalso evidenceof otherbirdsand mammals. Theseresultswill be processed in a forestdatabase. In futureyearsthis information will beof vital importancefor thesurvivalof theCapeParrot, andfor monitoringthestatusof indigenousforestsin South Africa.It is thereforeimportant for theconservation of theCape ParrotPoicephalus robustus robustus, that indigenous forestsarepreserved.

BROOKE, R.K.1984.SouthAfrican

reddatabook- birds.S.Afr.Nat. Sci.Prog.Rep.No.97.CS.l.R.. Pretoria. CLANCEY,P.A.1997. The Cape

Parrot:anadditionalvalid species. Honeyguide 43;61-62. COOPER, K.H.1985.Indigenous forestsurvey:theconservation statusof indigenous forestsin Transvaal, NatalandOJ.S.South Africa.WildlifeSocietyof Southern Africa.Durban. COOPER,K.H. & SWART,W. 1992.

Transkei forestsurvey.Wildlife Societyof Southern Africa, Durban. HARRISON,jA, ALLAN, S.G. UNDERHILL,loG., HERREMANS M.. TREE,A.]., PARKER,V. & BROWN,

C]. 1997.Theatlasof Southern AfricanbirdsVoU & 2.Birdlife SouthAfrica.johannesburg, LAWES, M.].1992.Estimates of populationdensityandcorrelates of thestatusof theSamango Monkey, Cercopithecus mitisin Natal,SouthAfrica.BioI.Conserv. 60:197- 210.

SKEAD, C]. 1964.Theoverland flightsandthefeedinghabitsof AcknowledgementstheCapeParrotPoicephalus robustus (Gmelin) in theeastern All whoparticipatedin the CapeProvince. Ostrich35202organisation andin 223. observations at forestlocalities SKEAD, C]. 1971.TheCape for theCapeParrotBigBirding Parrotin theTranskei andNatal. Dayarethanked.In particular Ostrich S uppl. 9:165 178. CraigBreedt,DougBurdon, VERNER, ]. 1985. A ssessment of jennyFrean,MalcolmGemmeI counting techniques. In:Current DonaldKemp,SandyLaurens Ornithology Vol.2.Ed.RJ. StuartMaclean andGavinShaw Press.NewYork. arethankedfor theirassistance. johnson.Plenum WIRMINGHAUS, ].0. (Late).In prep.Ecology andConservation References of theCapeParrotPoicephalus robustus (Gmelin). Posthumous BOSHOFF, A. 1989.Whatis PhDthesisUniversityof Natal, happeningto the parrotsof southernAfrtca.Quagga27:7-10. Pietermaritzburg.

FemaleP.robustusrobustusin SouthAfrica.

Photo:RosemaryLow

PalmCockatoo Resea re By STEPHEN GARNETTand GABRIELCROWlEY

ReporttotheQueensland Department ofEnvironment onthe feasibilityofconducting fieldresearchonthePalmCockatoo at CraterMountainWildlifeManagement Areain PapuaNewGuinea. In 1996a proposalwasput forwardto theQueensland Department of Environment by theWorldParrotTrustandtheWildlife Conservation Societythat researchbeconductedon thePalm Cockatoo. (SeePsittaScene February1997andNovember1997).To this enda proposalwasdrawnup by ourselvesto facilitatethis researchwhichwasfollowedup in October1996by avisit by all concerned partiesto thepotentialfield studysiteat Iron Range, CapeYorkPeninsula. At this meetingit wasdecidedto proceedin stagesasmoneybecameavailable.Initiallyvisitswereto bemadeto theIronRangeandWeipaareasduringthewetseasonto assessthe levelof PalmCockatoo breedingactivity.

CraterMountain Wildlife Management Area

researchers asguidesand carriersandalsochargerent for useof land.Somepeoplehave alsoreceivedbasictrainingin biologicalresearchandbecome Trainedlocal Observers who TheCMWMA is a largeareaof receive higherratesof pay. highqualityrainforestonthe southernedgeof theeastern In returnfor accessto research highlandsof PapuaNewGuinea moneylocallandownershave southof Goroka.Fourmajor setasidepartsof their landas villagesoccurwithin its places wherenohuntingor boundaries. Maimafuand gardening is to takeplace. Herowana in thenorthandeast Thereis alsoaneducation areownedby Gimipeoples, programme that aimsto HaiaandWaboto thewestand persuadelanqholdersto resist southbythePiotura. theshort-tenngainsofferedby Management of theCMWMA is largeloggingcompanies or facilitatedby theResearch and minersseeking access t o timber Conservation Foundation, a or mineralsonthesitein PapuaNewGuineabased exchange for thelong-term Foundation fundedby Wildlife benefitsthatwill arisefrom Conservation Internationaland of local otherinternationalconservation gradualdevelopment economic enterprises and fundingbodies.The supportfor research. management aimsto promote Mostresearchhassofar been theconceptof Integrated Conservation andDevelopment. basedat thewell-appointed if remoteCraterMountain landownersareencouraged to developsmallbusinesses, such BiologicalResearch Stationat astourism,andartefactand WaraSera,a day'swalkeastof Haiaon Pioturaland.Heresome coffeeproduction,andassist withresearch whileagreeingto fundamentalresearchonbirds, maintaintheintegrityof the frogsandplantshasbeen carriedoutthat hasadded overallecosystem. Research is seenasa meansof increasing greatlyto theknowledgeof the cashflowto theCMWMA highlydiversemid-mountain residentswhohelpoutside ecosystem.

PhysicalConditions

OveralltheCMWMA extends from over3,000m at thetop of CraterMountainto about100m at Wabo.Haiais at 800m.Most of theareais coveredin continuousrainforestwith the canopybrokenonlyby scatteredgardens,cliffs along thefringesof theCrater Mountainmassifandvigorous, boulder-filledstreams.Rainfall is from 6.5to 8 m a year.This rain is spreadthroughtheyear but someperiodsarecloudier thanothers- in the 10daysI wastherethesunwasseenonly on thefirst dayandthefull moonwasglimpsedbut once. Aswith anyyoungandactive landscape, hills aresteepand landslidescommon.The physicalconditionshavetwo consequences for research.

Hereis a youngPalmCockatoo, perhapsplanninghis first flight.

Thepatchydistributionis also. likely to bereflectedin the dispersionof nests.I sawtwo nests,bothwithin a kilometre of oneanother.Bothwerein the deadremainsof thehosttreeof stranglerfigs.Anotherold nest a kilometreawayhadbeencut downto removethehornbill occupyingit at thetime.One nestwasclimbedby my guides, StibenandHeroapeTuroi,and foundto containfreshsmall sticksona platforma metre belowtheentrancebut nobirds wereseennearit in the evening.Theotherhad producedchicksin May1995 andJune1996andPeroTuroi sawa pairof birdsperched nearbytheeveningwewere there,oneof whichaddedfresh sticks. Therewasconsiderable knowledgeof foodtypestaken by PalmCockatoos andfour wereseen.These,listedby their Pioturanames,aredescribed.

Ti , a Terminaliasr. Thefruit areknownasOkarinutsin pidgin.Severalpeopledescribe Thefollowingnotesarea howPalmCockatoos knock combinationof personal thesefruit to thegroundwhere observations andaccounts theyareeatenby cassowaries. providedby localresidents, Thecassowaries thendigestthe someof whichrequirefurther investigation.PalmCockatoos, fleshandpasstheseed.Palm Cockatoos thenfly downto the knownin thePioturalanguage cassowary droppingsand as'Mitoio'aftertheir call, extractthekernelsfromthe appearto bepatchily distributedthroughtheCMWMA seed.MackandWright(1996, Emu96,p 97)wereapparently belowabout1500m.Theyare told that thePalmCockatoois rarelyseenin Haiaitself asa the'brother'of thecassowary. resultof hunting,althoughI Ourinformants,aftermuch sawoneabout1km south,but puzzleddiscussionof his maystill occurin Herowana. In quote,corrected us- thePalm factI sawor heardbirdsonlya Cockatoois in fact the'nephew' fewtimesduringmy staybut, of thecassowary! giventheamountof countryI hadto cover,that is not Thefruits weighabout225g surprisingandis notan (206-250,n=7)andmeasure93 indicationof their abundance. x 72x 55mm.Theyhave Thereshouldcertainlybe averagekernelweightof 23g enoughin theareato allow (20-26,n=5),about10%of fruit adequatedatacollection. weight,sooffera relatively

enormousreturnonthe investmentin openingthem. Howeverpeoplelikeeatingit tooandmostfruit foundonthe forestfloorhadalreadybeen splitandeatenby people.The kernelis extremelyoily andhas theflavourof creamyfresh peanuts.Onlyonesmallfruit wasseenthatwassaidto have beenknockeddownbya Palm Cockatoo. Howeverthetree doesalsooccurawayfromthe well-frequented pathswhereI sawthemandwascommon fromHaiato Wabo.It is not knownwhetherthecockatoos alsofeedonthefruit in situbut it is largerthananyothersingle fruit thebirdsareknownto eat.

cockatooshadbeeneatingjust southof theWaraPio.Thefruit of this speciesis smallerthan that of Ti andthecockatooshad apparentlybeenextractingthe kernelsin thecanopy.Misoape alsotold methecockatooseat fruits Carbo')of another Terminalia ju'u aswell asfruits of the00, whichareproduced at a differenttimeof year,the Peneandthejeud.

Thecockatoosaresaidto be presentthroughouttheyear andsometimes gatherin small groupsto roost.Two behaviouraldifferenceswith the Australianpopulationwere noted.Firstno-oneI spoketo hadanyknowledgeof the Anotherfruit is We'e,possibly drummingonhollowlogs Cerberafloribunda,mentioned recordedin Australia.Alsothe by WrightandMack(Emu96, CraterMountainbirdsaresaid p100,AM#!).A tall simpleto roostin a mannerquite leavedrainforesttreethat unlikeanyotherbird, and producesa largeellipticalblue unlikethePalmCockatoos in drupeof about95g (66-126, Australia whichroostnormally n=7)with dimensions76x 49x in trees.PaulandI wereshown 41mm.Thesinglekernelis on threeoccasions siteswhere aboutI 4g,15%of totalfruit ourguidessaidtheyhadseen weightwhichthecockatoos birdsroosting.Theseconsisted extractedby removingoneend of straightslendersaplings of thefruit. We'ethatI was whichhadbeenbrokenoff half assuredhadbeenforagedby wayto thecanopywhereless PalmCockatoos werefoundat than5 cmin diameter.Thebark severalsitesin theTaidoarea nearthetopof eachappeared andthefruit wasalsofoundon wornwhilebeneathonethere theforestfloor at severalsites werefreshdroppings,a single betweenHaiaandWabo.It is greyfeatherthat couldhave nottraditionallyeatenby comefrom thethroatof a Palm peopleandtheoneI tastedwas Cockatooanda freshlycut particularlybitter. sprayof leavesthat couldhave Piois anothertall simple-leaved beentrimmedfrom theroost treethatproduceda smaller tree.Toroostonthesestems roundgreenfruit. Thisfruit thecockatooapparentlyplants dehiscesalongfour linesof thetip of thebeakin theendof cleavage revealingfour rowsof thestemandhangs.Our four to five shinyblackseedsto informantsdescribedhowthe eachof whichis attacheda cockatooshufflesall night large,brilliantorangeant.Fruit against thestembut is truly weighed76g (55,103)and suspended from its upper measured 59x 47x 47mm. mandible because, whena Eachseedweighedabout0.18g breezecomes,thebodyof the (0.97x 0.55x 0.54mm)with cockatoois blownoutfrom the thearil weighinga third as stem.SadlyI did notwitness much.Thisis nota traditional this behaviour but I haveleft a foodbut thearil hasanoily 25kinarewardwith PaulIgag flavourwiththesweetsubtle for whoevermanages to show aftertasteof globeartichokes.It him a PalmCockatooroosting wassooily thatit couldbe spreadlikebutter.ThenamePio in this manner. apparentlyrefersto at leastsix Althoughostensiblya protected unrelatedtreeswhichsharethe specieswithin theCMWMA habitof dehiscingalongthree huntingstill continueswhenthe to sixlinesof cleavage sois not opportunitypresentsitself. veryusefulfor identification. Bothchicksproducedfrom the activenestnearTaidowere Seweis anotherTerminalia sr. (possiblyAM#240in Mackand killed.In eachcasetheyoung cockatoowasseenat themouth Wright(Emu96,p100)thatthe

Range National Park, Queensland.

d of thenestwhichthenfI prematurelywhenthenes tre beatenandwas caug killedandeaten.The scarcityof cockatoos, Haiavillageis alsoattri to hunting,thehunters shootingPalmCockatoos usingbowsand ter buildingplatformsa des besideknownroostsites.

Cles Apartfromthewidespread andcommonSulphur-crested CockatooCacatua galerita,two lesswell knownlargeparrot speciesareresidentin the CMWMA, EclectusParrots Eclectus roratusandPesquet's ParrotPsittrichas fulgidus. EclectusParrots('Anari')were commonin all areasvisited andwereseenbothin the understoreyand in the

---

~ IIDceW~

BySTEWART A. METZ,M.D.,Universityof WisconsinMedicalSchool,Madison,Wisconsin

A Glimmerof Hope for theMoluccan(Seram)Cockatoo AlthoughI amaninvestigativescientistbyvocation,I find it hardto speakobjectively of theMoluccanCockatoo(Cacatuamoluccensis). At leastin captivity,this parrot embodiesmostof thecharismaandmagicof psittacines.Thiscockatoois a wondrous bird,with white-to-pinkfeathersthat puff up,duringits display,like a floweropening. It hassaffroncolorsawashundertheflight andtail feathers,andthecharacteristic deepsalmon,full, tall crest,sweptbacklike thepompadourof somepsittacinerockand-rollerfrom the1960s!Thelarge,darkeyesof this parrotareamazingly expressive, showinga rangeof emotionsmatchedby anintelligencewhichis both impressiveandunhinging(atleastto anyonewhoseegodoesnottaketo being outsmarted).Tocompletethepicture,theMoluccanCockatoocanbethevery embodiment of loyaltyandaffection,at timesmimickinga puppymorethana bird. If thereis anythingelsein Naturewhichcanmirror its beauty,it wouldhaveto bea puresaffronrose. Surely,then,suchanavian treasurewouldbecherished, andthereforeprotected. Unfortunately, this is notthe case;rather,paradoxically, this bird is severelyendangered in thewild andmaybecloseto extinction.Extantknowledgeon thesubjectup to 1996,andthe reasonsfor theimminent extinctionof this parrot,have previouslybeensummarized in detail(ref.1).Toreiteratein brief,this cockatoowas originallyfelt to beindigenous to theislandof Seram(alternate spelling:Ceram),aswellasto Saparua andHaruku,threeof whatwerereferredto in the pastasSpiceIslandsin theeast-

centralIndonesianislandchain. Thus,its naturalhabitatis confinedto theProvinceof Maluku.Its statusonthelatter twoislandsis unknown,but its lastremainingstrongholdis Seram,a denselywoodedand mountainous islandof 18,400 squarekilometerswhichstill containsanimisttribal peoplein theinterior. At leasttwo tribes existonSeram:theNaulu (Nuaula)people(awarriortribe, at leastpreviouslyfelt to includeheadhunters) andthe Bonfiapeoplein theEast(who areclassifiedgenerallyasmore shyandpeaceful).Recent evidence(seebelow)suggests thatthebird mayalsobe

presentonAmbon(amuch smallerislandto thesouth), whichis thecurrentcapitalof theprovince.In thecenterof Seramexistsa nationalpark (Manusela) of approximately 1,890squarekilometers (ironically,Manusela means 'Birdof Freedom').It is an arduoustrek to reachthecentre of theislandby foot and,at leastuntil recently,requireda guideandthepermissionof the villagehead.A roadhasbeen introducedthroughManusela which,unfortunately,also increasestherisksof logging. Thebird is severelythreatened on Seramdueto habitatloss relatedto logging,aswell as capturefor thesakeof thepet bird trade,or evenfor eatingor hunting.(Thecockatoowas consideredto bea pest, becauseit attackedyoung coconutsin plantationsto get at their milk andsoft interior pulp).

MostThreatened Fauna

Wherehaveall theMoluccan cockatoos gone?Thesecouldbeanywhere in the world,if still alive.

Thefaunaof Indonesiaare perhapsthemostthreatenedin theworld. Therearedata suggesting that 7-11%of the bird speciesareendangered there. Thisfigureis comparable to that in the UnitedStates,with onlythe

PhilippinesandNewZealand havinga higherpercentage (1215%).However, Indonesiais the 'leader'in termsof thetotal numberof endangered birds (andotherspecies;ref. 3). Essentiallynothingis knownof thenaturalhistoryand breedinghabitsof this cockatoo in thewild. Thisauthorhasnot beenableto find a single photographof this bird in its nativehabitat!Aviculturehas its ownproblemsre.the continuedexistenceof this bird; it hasbeensuggested by authoritiessuchasRosemary Low,that this bird coulddieout in captivityif all youngwere hand-reared, sincemaleshave poorbreedingsuccesses under thoseconditionsandhave commonlyshownaggression towardsthefemales. Sincetheauthorlastreviewed this topic,thereis somenew informationregardingthe statusof this bird. TheWae BuluCambridgeUniversity Expeditionin 1997observed apparentlysignificant populationsof cockatoos outsideof Manusela Park.This observationhasbeenconfirmed by theexperienced ornithologist,K.DavidBishop (personalcommunication; see alsoref.9)aswellasby Y. Cahyadin,Headof Birdlife International'sProgramme Maluku(seebelow).In addition, Poulsenandjepsonhave reportedin preliminaryform thepresencein 1995of this cockatooin theforestedhills on thenorthcoastof theHitu PeninsulaonAmbonIslandto the southwest.Nonetheless, theonly strongholdof this cockatoois likelyto beSeram, almostexclusivelyoutsideof thebordersof thenational park.

10 J

changeprioritiesof this nation in a waythat mightderailthe SeramCockatooproject. The involvementof groupssuchas theWildlifeConservation Society,theWorldParrotTrust, andBirdlifeInternationalIndonesiabodeswell for efforts in this region. If anyonecan helpthis cockatoo,these organizationscan.

Portraitof aperfectcompanion Moluccan cockatoo.

Dueto theimminentthreatto this cockatoo(despiteits classification asCITES I),recent interesthasfinally risenin effortsto conservethisbird. Suchaneffortwouldprobably utilizea combinationof approaches, butcentrally,one basedupontheconceptof bringingfinancialgainto the localpeoplesin excessof what theycouldearnby killing, huntingor exportingthisbird. Chiefly,thiswouldinvolve establishment of ecotourism sitesonSeramIsland.Asmany readersareaware,this approachhasbeenpioneered by Or.CharlesMunnof the WildlifeConservation Society (WCS) anddemonstrated to be effectivein SouthAmerica.A programme is underwayunder theauspicesof WCSto dojust thisonSeram.

Photo,'Bonniejay

infrastructureof ecotourism will, of course,needto be established.In addition,it will benecessary to convincethe inhabitantsof Seramthat it wouldbeto their advantage economicallyto maintain populationsof this cockatoo, Is therereasonto believethat sincethis will bea continuing ecotourismmighttakeroot in sourceof incomeasopposedto sucha remotesetting? Ambon a one-timeearningfor 'usage'. hasaninternationalairport In addition,it is to behoped receivingjets dailyfrom that localprideof thepeopleof Indonesiaandothersites,and Maluku, canbeincreased,using goodbeaches andsnorkeling techniques pioneeredby Paul existsin AmbonandSeram. Butlerin theCaribbean, sothat Furthermore, Seramis felt to be thelocalresidentsbeginto a treasuretrovefor birders, realizethat theyarethesole featuringsuchgemsasthe guardians of oneof themost purple-naped lory,theMoluccan beautiful a nimalsonearth, thrush,theredlory,eclectus, whichtheycanplayan thegreat-billedparrotandthe indispensablerole in saving. red-cheeked parrot,notto mentiona significant mammalian presence.One problemmaybethedistanceof Thiswill involveeducation, Seram,andtheexpenseof hopefullyreachingthechildren NewInitiativeby the access.Theweathermaybea of theisland,aswellas problem,sincetherearelong thebureaucracy of WildlifeConservation monsoonalseasonsandnoclear convincing Indonesiaitself that this task timesof theyearwhenweather Society meritsa highcentralized is idealfor tourists. Mostof TheWCS hasrecentlyreceiveda prioritization. A lettersentby Seramreceivesbetween2,500 theauthorto thePresidentof Memorandum of Understanding and3,500mmof rain peryear, fromtheIndonesian Indonesiadid in fact reach morein theeastandnortheast; PresidentSuhartoandwas government, permittingthemto however,AugustandSeptember workonconservation-related relayedby himto Mr.loop Ave, havelowerrainfalltotals. mattersin this region.This theMinisterof Tourism,and It is necessary to learnmuch programme will becarriedout locallyto staff of Programme locallyundertheaegisof the aboutthehabitat,populations Maluku.Nonetheless, the Indonesian branchof the andlife historyof this islandsof Indonesiaarespread WildlifeConservation Society, cockatoo,sincealmostnothing overa vastarea,with major is knownaboutthesethree withtheprojectto beheaded politicalandeconomicturmoil. criticalareas.Accuratecensus upbyDrs.TimO'Brienand Althoughtherecentfireson figuresneedto beobtained, MargaretKinnaird.In addition, Irianjaya(andelsewhere) in Indonesiaaresaidnot to have YusupCahyadin (theHeadof possiblyinvolvingtheuseof aerialsurveys.The Programme Maluku,of Birdlife affectedSeram,theyclearlywill International-Indonesia) has statedthat oneof theprojects of theWorldBank(the MALCONAR project)may includeconservation effortsfor all parrotsof Malukuin the foreseeable future.

HowToHelp

Howcanreadershelp?The effortsindicatedabovewill be expensiveandlongterm; fundingis desperately needed. Readers whowishto helpthe survivalof this magnificentbird cansenddonationsto theWorld ParrotTrustUK,whichwill matchthefirst ÂŁ1,000andsend thetotalamounton to the WildlifeConservation Society.

References Metz,StewartPlightof the Moluccan Cockatoo in theWild: TheTerriblePriceof Beauty, Pet BirdReport,Vo!.7,#4(Issue36), Nov.1997,(40-42). Muller,K.SpiceIslands:Exotic Eastern Indonesia, Passport Books,Lincolnwood, IL,1993. RabbGB.GlobalExtinctionThreat Defenders (Magazine of the Defenders of Wildlife).Winter 1996-1997,34-36. Low,Rosemary Endangered Parrotsof Indonesia AFA Watchbird (Journalof the AmericanFederation of Aviculture), March1997,55-62. Marsden, Stewart TheEcology andConservation of theParrots of Sumba, Buru,andSeram, Indonesia, PhDthesis(undated) Poulsen M andJepsonP.Statusof theSalmon-Crested Cockatoo and RedLoryonAmbonIsland, Maluku,Cukila8:159-160, 1996. Sweeney, RG.Moluccans Soarto NewHeights,BirdTimes,Oct 1997,30-31. Biological Surveys and Conservation Prioritiesin Northeast Seram.TheWaeBulu Cambridge UniversityExpedition, July1997. CoatesBJandBishopKO.A Guide to theBirdsof Wallacea, Dove Publications, Alderley (Queensland), Australia1997. TheNa,tural Historyof Seram: Maluku,Indonesia(eds.ID Edwards, AAMacdonald, j. Proctor),InterceptLtd.,Andover, UK,1993. 11

TheEuropeantraae in wi -caug t Greys

A healthy,happyEnglish-bredGrey.

by ROSEMARY LOW

Wouldyoubuyawild-caught GreyParrot?I doubtit. Readers of PsittaScene arewell informed people.Theycareenoughto join theTrustor to reada friend'sor familymember's copy.Unfortunately, thereare manypeoplewhodon'taskor don'tcareabouttheoriginof thecheapGreyParrotor,for example,Orange-winged Amazonthattheybuy.Yes, wild-caughtbirdsarecheaper thancaptive-bred onesto purchase, usuallyabouthalfthe price.

Thatis thesituationfromthe humanperspective. If wewere talkingaboutinanimate merchandise thereactioncould be:"Tough!Youshouldhave doneyour homeworkbefore buying".Butwearetalking abouta highlyintelligentand extraordinarilysensitive creature.Thisdescription appliesto manyparrotspecies but moresoto theAfricanGrey thanto anyotherI canthink of. Theysuffersomuchfrom capturethroughexportto quarantineto final destination.

In this issueMikeReynolds remindsusof whatweall know: "Parrotsarestill beingtrapped in thewild,andtransportedin inadequate andoftenfatal conditionsto internaland externalmarkets.Thisbeingso, they[thegeneralpublic]must understandthattheonly parrotstheyshouldbuyare thosethathavebeenbredin captivity."

Twentyyearsagoweweremuch lessawareof whatwasinvolved in theparrottrade.Evenif the crueltyandwastageof life was known,manywouldhave turneda blind eyebecause therewasnootherwayto obtainthesebirds.Today, Greys,alsoAmazons,for example,arebredin large numbersin theUKandother European countries.Greysare availableyearround,notbeing

Unfortunately, educationis not enough.It is a sadfactthatas longaswild-caughtparrots arrivein theUKandelsewhere therewill bebuyers.Overthe yearsI havereceivedcountless lettersfromthesebuyers,or readtheirsadstoriesin magazines whichcaterfor parrotkeepers.Manyof the birdstheyboughtlivedonly daysor weeks(unknownto the purchaser theywerealready harbouringdisease,suchas salmonellosis) or theyprovedto beuntameable andtotally unsuitableaspets.Mostof thesepeople,sadderandwiser, lamentthefactthattheydid notpaytheextrafor a captivebredbird.It wouldhavebeen somuchcheaperin thelong runandsaveda lot of heartache. 12

seasonal breeders (asaspecies individualpairsmaybe seasonal). Thereis absolutely no reasonto importthesebirds from thewild. Sowhatcanwedo,thoseof us whoarein favourof banning theimportationof wild-caught parrots?In theUKthe Departmentof theEnvironment is theorganisationresponsible for issuinglicenses.A DoE spokesman told methat comparatively fewGreyParrots areimportedinto theUKnow andinferredthatbecauseof this it seemedunlikelythat therewere groundsto challengetheir importfrom the viewpointof "sustainable use". Therewouldnormallyneedto besoundscientificreasonsfor importationto cease.

Thefirst stepwasto obtainthe facts.HowmanyGreyshave beenimportedinto Europe duringthepasttenyears?A telephonecallto JohnCaldwell at theWorldConservation MonitoringCentrein Cambridge resultedin thefiguresbeing faxedto methesameday.

importanceof buyinga captivebredbird. Emphasise the numberof birdswhichmay havediedfor eachwild-caught bird that reachestheseshores. Manypeoplewouldneverhave consideredthis but onceit has beenpointedout to them,it staysin their minds.

Thefiguresshowthat thereis Anddon'tshrugyourshoulders still a hugeimporttradein andsay:"Sowhat,weareonly BelgiumandtheNetherlands. talkingaboutonethousand Theyindicate that importations birdsperyear."Thatnumber of GreyParrots(notTimnehs) couldriseagain.Notethe into theU.K.havedeclined immensenumbersof Greysstill almostannuallyoverthepast beingimportedinto Belgium. decade.Althoughanyimports Manyof thesebirdsandother mightbeconsideredtoo many, parrotsarefindingtheirway with onlyjust over1,000birds into theUK.I wouldbevery importedinto theU,K.each surprisedif theyall did so yearin 1995and 1996,tradein legally. this speciesis nolonger Thereis onewayin which significantin theviewof, for memberscanhelp.Letushave example,thecivil servant. your sadstories,perhapsyour Soit all comesbackto experiences someyearsago,or currentonesof an educatingthepublic.Andif the publicdo notreadmagazines acquaintance, whoboughta relatingto avicultureor pet wild-caughtGreyandsoonhad keeping,it is verydifficult to causefor regret.I will collate reachthem.Wordof mouthis someof thesestoriesin the form of anarticle.Asa themosteffectiveway.When someoneadmiresyour parrot, deterrent,it couldprove powerfulif widelycirculated. makea pointof mentioningthe GreyParrots(Psittacuse.erithacus)importedinto Europe 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 19941995 1996 Austria 850 750 851 451 598 451 233 7 6 3 Belgium

2363

3235

4998

6759

7109

8365

6221

9551

9636

7300

Germany Denmark

8211

8188

5027

5437

6697

5513

4385

4366

3079

1874

6 114

0 206

Spain France

502

1205

644

577

199

4995

4865

1565

1667

2688

4536

3337

2905

3538

976

U.K.

5215

4219

3373

3452

2516

2844

2837

2110

1067

1040

Greece

1579 4138

400

966

420

370

321

820

210

218

205

763

664

227

428

157

170

343

607

354

601

128

Italy Netherlands 1833 3786 403 2967 3558 4163 3883 2734 6168 5459 Portugal Sweden

3)"1guessthat'swhyI'll never sellor makeanymoneyoff the backof a parrot." 4) "whyarewebreedingmore?"

ResponsesTo Our

Articleonthe Welfare of PetParrots"in the May1998PsittaScene DearMr.Reynolds; Permitmeto introducemyself. Mynameis DennisSaydakandI ama parrotbreeder.I consider myselfto bea responsible aviculturistandI hopeI have earnedthat reputationamong mypeers.Forexample,Iaman active-member of several relatedlocal,nationaland internationalorganisations. My breedingfacility is MAP certifiedandI provide comprehensive informationand ongoinghelpto thosewho purchasemyparrotbabies.Asa breeder,I genuinelycareabout whathappensto thebabies aftertheyaresold. I havereadyourarticle"The Welfareof PetParrots"in the May1998issueof PsittaScene severaltimeswithconsiderable interest.I completelyagreethat thereis a majorneedfor educationin orderto improve thewelfareof petparrots. HoweverI amveryconcerned abouta secondary message yourarticlealsodelivers.That is: breedingandsellingbirds for a profit is wrongand perhapsevenimmoral.This message. reflectsverybadlyon thoseof uswhobreedparrots andespeciallyon"commercial" breeders.Considerfor a momentthefollowingquotes takenfromexcerptscontained in yourarticle. 1)"Aslongasparrotsareabout money,therewill be compromise andtheparrots will bethelosers" "nomatter howcaringthebreeder." 2)"Doyoueverworryabout whathappensto yourbeautiful babiesdowntheroadafterthey aresold?"Hisresponsewas, "youcan'tthinkof that when youarein thebusiness."

It is a simplefactthatwelive in a societythat is economy (money)driven.It seemsthat everythingin life hasa monetaryvalueattachedto it includingParrots.Thatis not aboutto changein ourlifetime. Breedingparrotsis an expensiveundertaking especiallyif it is to bedone right.Properhousing,good foodanddecentcaredoesn't comefor free.A breeding facility mustat leastbreak even,if it is to surviveevenin theshortterm.It mustturn a profit in orderto grow,improve or contributein a meaningful wayto aviculturein general. Thereshouldbeno shame attachedwhatsoever to earning a profit frombreedingand sellingbirdsaslongasit is donein a legal,ethicaland responsiblemanner. Notwithstanding your disclaimer,whenI read commentssuchastheprevious quotationsin PsittaScene I becomeconfusedand concernedaboutthesupport thatwill begivento aviculturistsin thefutureby theWPT. Theaveragelifespanof a parrot in captivityis shortcompared to its potentiallifespan. Accidents,poornutritionand ignoranceof manyimportant issuesby theownersall playa role.If all breedingactivity wereto becurtaileduntil all captiveparrotswerebetter caredfor, I'mafraidthatthere wouldbeinsufficientnumbers of themleft to maintaincaptive populations.Consideringtheir plight in thewild, it wouldbea mistaketo stopbreedingthem. Respectfully, DENNISSAYDAK

DearMr.Saydak, Thanksfor lettingmehaveyour viewsonourarticleabout welfareof petparrots.The quotationyoudrawattentionto isfromSabraBrea's letter/article,andI thoughtI hadmadeit clearthat sheholds a ratherextremeviewin my opinion.WhenI metwithher earlierthisyearin Floridashe

actuallyurgedmeto stop breedingparrotsbecause it is impossible to besurethat the offspringwill haveperfectlives for thirty or forty years.In the final twosections of myarticleI explainmyownpointof view, andyouwill seethatI ama committedaviculturist,andalso expectto createsomeincome from thesaleof youngbirds. TheWPTiswillingto print opinionsit doesnotagreewith, asthisistheonlywaywewill succeed in bringingtogetherall sectionsof theparrotworld,to workfor thewellbeingof the birdsthemselves.

in captivityandvastnumbers of themarein factbeing abused.Youwill likely noteven beawarewhenthis sortof situationoccurslet alonebe giventheopportunityto defend aviculture.Andthereinliesthe danger. It matterslittle thatyourown opinionwasalsoexpressed becauseit convenientlywould havebeendeletedby theRights groupin their own documentation.

Thanksfor gettingin touch.No doubtI will hearmorefrom otherreaders.

4) All factorsconsidered, I must askthequestion Is it really necessary to providethe enemiesof aviculturewith ammunitionthat canbeused againstusfrom ourveryown publication?

All thebest. MikeReynolds.

Thankyoufor theopportunity to expressmy ownviews.

DearMr.Reynolds;

Regards, DennisSaydak

Thankyoufor thespeedyreply to my previousE-mail.Thiswas unexpected but much appreciated. Furtherto my originalletterpleaseconsider thefollowingadditionalpoints. 1)Whenextremeview-points suchasSabraBrea'sareprinted in PsittaScene, thereis potential to dogreatharmto aviculture. TheWPTaddscredibilityto her wordssimplyby puttingthem in print. Please bearwith mefor a momentwhileI explainwhy. 2)Whenyouaddin your own words"Theseviews,arestrongly madeanddemonstrate the concernfelt by manyaboutthe plight of largenumbersof captiveparrots",additional credibilityis givento herviewpoint. 3)Herein Canada, weare constantlybeingbombardedby attemptsto introduce restrictivelegislationagainst exoticpetsat everylevelof government.I suspectthesame holdstrue in manyotherparts of theworld. I haveno doubtthatanimal rightsactivistsareincludedin theWPTmembership. It would benaiveto think otherwise. Theycaneasilyuseselfserving excerptsfrom PsittaScene articlesto say LookMr. Politician,eventheWPTandits membersareadmittingin print that parrotsshouldnot bekept

DearMsLow THEWELFARE OFPETPARROTS

(PsittaScene, Mayissue,1998) Asa PsittaScene subscriber,I wholeheartedly endorsethe aimsof TheWorldParrotTrust andI welcomedMichael ' Reynolds'articlein theMay issuewith its inclusionof two lettersfrom greatlyconcerned parties. Theunpalatablefactis that virtually all modernadviceon petparrotbehaviourand upbringing(particularlyfrom theAmericancontingent)is basedonthepremisethat no responsibleownerwill allow full flight, andindeedthat such libertywouldplacethebird beyondits owner'scontrol. Thisis thegeneralviewin the U.s.A,andfirst-rate publicationspromoteit withan almostreligiousfervour. A changeof attitudeonwing clippingmaywell meanthat fewerpeoplewill opt for a pet parrot,but for thosewho sincerelywanta parrotandare willing to put in themaximum effort for its welfare,more guidelineson trainingan unclippedpetaredefinitely necessary. Yourssincerely KristinShay LondonW14 13

AlextheBlueCrown The late Kyle Brown

TheWorldParrotTrusthasgainedtwonew"members." It hasalso losta member.AndI ambothhappyandsadto reportthis.Thenew "members" areAlex,a blue-crownconure,andjulius, a Congo Africangray.Thisis thestoryof howtheycameto theWPT,andall thecrazinessthat broughtthemthere. Alexandjulius belongedto a closefriendof mine,KyleBrown,a WPTmember,bird lover,andaerospace engineer.I hadknownKyle sincehighschool,andfor nearlytwentyyears,weweregood friends. Kylegotbittenby thebird bugin college,whenhehada parakeet namedSylvia.Unfortunately, Sylviadid not live long,but Kylewas extremelyfondof her,andhersweetpersonalityandplayfulness.

Alex, Blue-crownedConure

Julius,AfricanGrey

Aftercollege,andreturningto theLosAngelesarea,Kyle purchaseda lovebird.Shewas sweetat first, but underwenta personalitychangefor the worseafterKylemovedinto a newcondominium.Shebecame meanandornery,whichled to a namefor this still-unnamed bird: Vicious.Viciouslivedfor a fewirascibleyears,finally passingawayin 1993. Kyle'snextbird wasthe aforementioned blue-crown, Alexander(TheGreat)Brown,or Alex. Thistime,Kylewas determinedto makeno mistakesin raisinghim.Heread everythinghecouldfind onthe careandfeedingof parrots.It did not takehim longto becomeanexpert.Thisisn't an exaggeration; Kylewasoneof thequickeststudiesI'veever seen.Whenhedecidedto take up skiing,hespentlittle time on thebeginnerslopes.He simplytooka coupleof lessons, andin practicallynotime,was negotiatingtheadvancedslopes like anexpert. Soit waswith theraisingof Alex.Alexwaswild-caught,so Kylehadtheaddeddutyof taminghim,but it seemedthere werenoobstacles. Alexquickly becametame,tender,and loving.Hereceiveda dietof freshvegetables, Harrison'sbird pellets,andKay-Tee treatsticks. Hebondedto Kylecompletely, andbecamea greatcompanion. It did nottakelongfor Kyleto wantto try hishandwith a largerbird. Hemeta Congo Africangrayat a bird show,and "just hadto takehim home." Thegraywasnamedjulius (Caesar) Brown,or just julius, andsometimes jules.julius was hand-fedfromthebeginning, andwasalreadytame.Hewas friendlyandextremelycurious

aboutall goings-onaroundhim. Hemadea welcomeadditionto thefamily. I becameknownas"Uncle Steve,"andagreedto take responsibilityfor thebirdsif thesituationeverrequiredit. AlthoughAlexandjulius never becamegoodbuddies,theygot alongreasonably well.At worst, therewasa sortof tolerant indifferencebetweenthem,and at thebestthereseemedto be somegenuineaffection.julius did learnto imitateAlex's screechperfectly.At leastI couldn'ttell themapartif I wasn'tlookingat them(Kyle could). julius seemedto beon hisway to beinga goodtalker.He pickedup a fewwordsand phrasesalmostrightaway. Genericthings,like "hello,"but hewascertainlyonhis way. Onceagain,Kyleimmersed himselfin booksandliterature, this timeabouttheAfricangray. Aroundthis time,Kyle discoveredtheWorldParrot Trust,joined,anddid whathe couldto teachothersaboutthe goalsof theWPT,andaboutthe propercareof parrots(bothat homeandin thewild) in general. Unfortunately,this is wherethe taleturnstragic.Likemostof us,Kylehadhis shareof health problems,andhis mayhave beenworsethat most.Hewas afflictedwith Crohn'sdisease, anintestinalinflammation.He liveda "normal"life for the mostpart,but Crohn'salso usuallyrequiresoccasional surgeries.Andso,everyfew years,anoperationwouldbe requiredto removesome inflamedtissue,afterwhichall wouldreturnto normal. Youwouldn'thaveguessed.

Kyleleda veryactivelifestyle. Heworkedfull timeasa carbon compositeengineerat jet PropulsionLaboratory/NASA, wasa licensedpilot, loved skiing,andhiking.Theredidn't seemto bemuchthat could slowhim down.Butin the summerof 1994hehadanother surgery,andthis time,it was clearthatsomethinghadgone verywrong. Forthesakeof space,thenext three-and-a-half yearsmustbe condensed into a few paragraphs. Thisis extremely difficult.A lot happened in thosethree-and-a-half years. Kylefoundhimselfin a seeminglyendlessroundof doctors,pain-killers, procedures, devices,andinpatientandout-patient surgeriesall with thesamegoal: to curethepain, Nothingworked,Orthings wouldworkfor a little while, andthenthepainwouldreturn, Kylebecamea helplessguinea pig in a downwardspiralof pain"specialists." TheMayo Clinicandthebestpaindoctors at UCLAtriedandfailedto cure it. It wasmysterious, andvery exasperating. In 1998,thingsgotevenworse, Thelatestexperiment, an internalpainmedicationpump, and"lastresort"wascausing problems,Thepumpitself causedquitea lot of pain,as wellasfailedto controlthe painfromtheold incision.Kyle spokeof havingit removed,and goingbackonthepills,which everyone, Kyleincluded,knew wouldbea mistake.Thefuture lookedverybleak, WhenKylediedon March29, 1998,it didn'tcomeasa surprise. Theprovisionsof thewill were fairlysimple,Mostall possessions wereleft to me, andall moneyandthetwo birdswereleft to theWorld ParrotTrust.Hehadtold me aboutthewill, andI never questioned hisdecisions.He wantedhis moneyto goto somethingworthwhile,andthe WPTwashisfavouritecharity. Mymainconcernwasabout whethertheywouldtakeAlex andjulius. I wasdelightedto learnthatthe WorldParrotTrustwould,in

fact,takethebirds.I think I had assumed(incorrectly)that they wereprimarilya fund-raising organisation, andthat their programsmostlycaredfor parrotsin thewild. I wasn't suretheywouldaccepttwo domesticated parrotsfor the restof theirlives.Fortunately, I waswrong. Afterseveralconversations with CynthiaWebb,I made arrangements to shipAlexand ]ulius to Memphis. I wiredthecagedoorsshutand placedcardboardoverthe doorsto blocktheview(and fingers)of anyonewhomight gettoocurious.I wasn'ttaking anychances, Andbrightand earlythenextmorning,I took thecagesandsetoff for the airport. Therestwentfairly smoothly. ExceptthatasI tooktheboys into theterminalI suddenly realisedhowmuchI wouldmiss them.Theyhadbeena big part of mylife for four years,andI felt asif I wassayinggood-bye to two closefriends."Uncle Steve"didn'tunderstandhow attachedhewasto theboys, andI genuinelyfelt sadness asI turnedthemoverto theairline officials, I wasnervousfor therestof the day.I worriedabouttheboys continuously...itseemedthere wassomuchthat couldgo wrong,It wasa greatrelief whenCynthiaWebbcalledthat eveningto saythat theyhad arrivedsafely.Shesaidthat someone hadremovedthe cardboardcoveringthedoors, andthat theboyswerebeing admiredby manypeopleat the airportwhiletheywaitedto be pickedup.(Nothardto understand,actually.) Cynthiaalsosaidthat it was julius whowasbeinga model citizen,It wasAlexwhowas still mad,andnot dealingwell with thesituation.I hopethat by now,he'ssettleddown! Aftertheir quarantineperiod, Alexandjulius will goto their newhomein Florida.I wish themwell,I will missthem,and I will alwaysbegratefulto the WorldParrotTrustfor accepting them,Theyaretworeallygood kids,andI hopetheir newlife is a happy,healthy,andlongone, with manynewfeathered friends.

ThisverysadstoryaboutKyle Brownandhisbirdstouches upona numberof issuesof interestto theWorldParrot Trust. First,it illustratesthe pleasureandfulfillmentof keepingbirds,especially thosewith theintelligenceof parrots. Second,it shows whata heavyresponsibilityit is to keepeventwobirds, especiallywhenpersonal problemsmultiply. Third,it makesclearthedifficulty of findingsatisfactorylongterm solutionsfor thefutureof muchlovedparrotsthat have becomevirtually 'membersof thefamily', Suchsituationsoccur frequently,andin ourMay 1998issueof PsittaScene we publishedsome'Guidelines for ParrotRescue' which attemptedto outlinesome thoughtson there-homingof parrotsaffectedby a variety of circumstances.Weprinted somealarmingnumbers, suggestingthat perhaps30% of all captiveparrotsare neglected(200,000in theUK, over1 million in theUS)and nobodyat all haschallenged our figures, Obviously,neithertheWPT nor anyotherorganisationcan handlesuchnumbers,and ensuringthewelfareof so manybirdsis an impossibility. Fornow,we havedonewhatwecan,which is to drawattentionto the

problemandsuggestsome solutions. Returningto SteveShaw's accountof 'Alexandjulius', wewishto expresstheWorld ParrotTrust'scondolences to Steve,andto KyleBrown's familyandfriends. TheTrust hasreceiveda very substantiallegacyfromKyle's estate,whichwill havemuch influenceonthefutureof WPT.Thetrusteesare consideringthebestwayto employthesefundsfor the benefitof theparrots. Alexandjulius arenowliving happilyat thefacility of a trusteeof WPT-USA in Florida. In conversation with Steve Shaw,hementionedthat Kyle hadbeenespeciallyenchanted by Hyacinthmacaws, but had neverownedone. Wehave namedoneof our 1998 Hyacinths,bredat Paradise Parkin theUK,afterKyle. So all beingwell,Kyle'snamewill live onfor manyyears. Finally,wewouldlike to invite otherWPTmembersto considerremembering the WorldParrotTrustin their wills. Webelievethat after nearlytenyearsof commitmentto the conservationandwelfareof theparrots,wehave establishedourcredentialsas true friendsof theparrotsof theworld, MichaelReynolds

The newlynamedHyacinth'Kyle'meetsa youngvisitor to ParadisePark,OK.

Newsfor WorldParrotTrustmembers Tobringour membersup to dateona varietyof WPTactivitiesandinterests.

ParrotSanctuary Theideais to builda smallsanctuaryfor up to 100birdsin needof rescueandrehabilitation. Welaunchedthis planin ourMay1996 PsittaScene, andinvitedourreadersto helpthefundraisingby adoptinga groupof four rescuedparrotsat Paradise Park,Cornwall. Wehada goodresponseto this,andfrom a varietyof sourceswe haveaccumulated £12,000($20,000)for thesanctuary.Ourthanks to all whohavecontributedto this fund.

1).L\llll()r!, 8.A.NcrrtJ.A.U.¥ /7~~ He. Cornwall.

./-

Recentdiscussions with our localauthoritysuggestthatwehavea goodchanceof gettingmatchingfundsfrom theEuropean Unionto helptheconstruction,andotherfundsto helpemploystaff especiallyfor thesanctuary.Thedownsideis thatwewill haveto waituntil aboutFebruary1999to getdecisionson theseproposals. In themeantimewewantto increaseour fundsto £20,000 ($33,000),soasto maximisethegovernmentfundswehopeto receive,perhapsto a totalof £40,000or £50,000.Hereis a sketchof oneof our proposedbuildings. Weshouldpoint outthat one elementof theprojectwill beto designidealpetparrot accommodation andrecommend it to visitors. All part of our PARROTS NEED HELPcampaign. tilt #<

J~~ .

~---

Youcanadopt this bird!

Readers mayrecallthat Oscar, themostpopularof our adoptionparrots,sadlydied lastyear.Thenextmostpopular bird wasRocky,a Blue-crowned Conurefoundin Gibraltarand flownin to usby theRAF.As thespeciesfeaturedin thefilm 'Paulie',Rockyis oftenpointed out byvisitorsto ParadisePark, andthis yearhehas successfullyraisedtwochicks. Wewouldwelcomenew adoptionsfor Rockyto help build up ourParrotSanctuary Fund. Youcanbean'Adopter' for £25($40),a 'Benefactor' for £50($80),or a 'Patron'for £100 ($160)or more. All categories will receivea certificatewith detailsof thebird theyhave adopted.

ParrotActionPlan

~ .,..,.",., ~~ ~

18.~~

Thisall beganbackin June 1995,whentheWPTorganised andfundeda meetingin Londonattendedby thetop brassof parrotconservation. BritishAirwaysAssisting Conservation flewin ten people,withoutwhomthe meetingwouldhavebeen seriouslyincomplete.The WorldParrotTrustwasaskedto

coordinatetheworkonthenew plan. Afterthreeyears,and thewelcomecooperation of parrotexpertstheworldover, thefour authorsof theplan (NoelSnyder,PhilMcGowan, JamieGilardiandAlejandro Grajal)metin NewYorkin Marchthisyearto reviewtheir joint efforts. Subsequently theycompleted thetextanddeliveredit to IUCN/SSC in Switzerland. Therewill bea shortdelay whileSSCcheckoverthe contents,butpublicationis expected by theendof this year.Wewill keepyou informed.

WPTBranches Firstto Benelux,whereour founderchairmanHanAssink hashandedoverthechairto RomainBejstrup. Weowea greatdealof gratitudeto Han, whowasinstrumentalin formingourfirst national branch,andhascontributedhis experience andwisdomfor morethanfive years. Our sincerethanksto him. Wehavea newnational representative in Australia. Thisis MikeOwen,wholives nearBrisbane,andrunsa successfulandhighlyethical petstore. Mikeis a geology Ph.Dwhopreviouslyworkedfor theAustralianGovernment, and is well acquaintedwith many aviculturalorganisations and individuals.TheParrotSociety of Australiahasalsoofferedits helpto WPT,andwenowhope to makefurtherprogresswith ourmembership downunder.

Canada

Parrotroopers Oneof ourlessseriousprojects (unlessit is takenup and producedbya majoranimation studio),this conceptof a group of environmentally aware parrotscleaningup theworld hasbeeninspectedwith interestby severalproduction companies.At thetimeof writing,however, westill await a positivedecision. What wouldhelpwouldbea donation of ÂŁ20,000to payfor a pilot film, whichwouldassistthe imaginationof beancountersin film companies to graspthe potentialof ourtroopers. Whenyouconsiderthatthe famousturtlesweresoboring theyhadto weardifferent colouredheadbands soyou couldtell themapart,imagine howexcitingit wouldbeto base yourcartoonstarsonover300 speciesof birdsof all shapes andsizesandmyriadcolours! Creativesuggestions and contactswouldbemuch appreciated.

TheWorldParrotTrustboothat thefirst everCanadianParrot Symposium (West)wasan outstandingsuccess.It took placeonVancouver Islandat thebeginningof May.Tribute mustbepaidto MikePearson andSharonfor sellinggoodsto thevalueof Can$3,527 to the 130participants.Thisis an averageof $27perperson!The newWPTCanadaT-shirtsand thebaseballcapswerebest sellers.MikePearson reports: "Wesignedup tennew members,threeof whichwere courtesyof theHagen promotionof a free membership to thosewhospent over$1000onHagenproducts. I signedup four newmembers from theUSA.Weowea big thankyou,yet again,to Mark Hagen,theRolfC.HagenCo andtheHagenstaffwho operatedtheir booth,for their tirelesseffortsonbehalfof the WorldParrotTrust.The organisershaveindicatedthat theyintendto repeatthe Symposium nextyearat the sametimeandI haveadvised thatwewill bein attendance." TheproceedsfromtheHagen boothtotalledthemagnificent sumof $2,202.TheTrustjoins MikePearson in extendingtheir

thanksandappreciationto Mark Hagenandeveryoneat HARI.

Spain Wehavejust agreedto setupa newbranchin Spain.Thiswill berunby AndresMarinandAna Metasanz, whoaremanagers of theGuinatebird parkin Lanzarote.Theyhavewide experience of parrots,bothin theCanariesandin mainland Spain,andhavecontacted friendswhowill helpforma smallcommitteeto coverthe wholecountry. Theywill also translatePsittaScene articles into Spanish,whichwill be helpfulbothin Spainandin LatinAmerica.

Denmark FromDenmark,wehearthat the fundingprovidedby that enterprisingbranchto helpthe constructionof CharlieMunn's HeathRiver(Peru)tourismand securitylodgehasbeen matchedby otherdonors.The resultis that thelodgewill shortlybeopenfor business. Morenewson this in a future PsittaScene. Oneof our Danishmembershas a rangeof excitingjewellery itemsfeaturingparrots,as illustratedhere. Suppliersof parrotrelatedmerchandise may beinterestedin takingon the wholesalingof this range. If so,pleasecontactWPT-UK in thefirst instance.

Translations Ourtotal numberof languages hasnowreachedseven:English, French,German,Danish,Italian, Dutch,Spanish.Oursincere thanksto our translators,all WPTmemberswhogivetheir timeandskill freelyto the trust,andareoftengiven insufficienttimeto dotheir

invaluablework. Without their helpwewouldfind it difficult to expandour membership in non-English speakingcountries.

Conventions Mostimminentis theLoro ParqueConvention, Tenerife,17-20September 1998. ManyWPTtrustees, scientificadvisers,national representatives, members andfriendswill bethere, andwewill hopeto arrange aninformalmeetingfor WPTmembersoneevening. MikeReynoldsandAndrew Greenwood canbe contactedat theBotanico Hotel(Tel:(9)22-38.14.00) for informationonthis, andtheavailabilityof WPT shirtsetc.) Wehavenot beengrantedtheprivilege of a WPTboothat this event. It'slateto bookin for this convention,butyoucould try callingLoroParqueon (34)373841,or email: loroparque@jet.es. Nextin line is theCanadian ParrotSymposium14-16 Novemberin Toronto. Informationavailablefrom MikePearson, POBox29, MountHope,OntarioLOR 1WO,Canada. Email: cwparrot@worldchat.com. In Italy,ournational representatives Freddie Virili andCristianaSenni havearrangedfor WPTItaly to havea freeboothat the European AAV(Assn.Of AvianVets)conference to beheldin PisaMay17-22 1999. Fordetailscontact: NewTeam,ViaGhiretti,2, 43100Parma,Italy. Email: newteam@mbox.voLit. Australiacomesnext,with themajor'Birds99' Conventiontakingplacein BrisbaneJune18-211999. Theorganisershaveinvited AndrewGreenwood, Charlie MunnandMikeReynoldsto attend. Thegoodnewsis that onlyAndrewand Charliewill begivingtalks. Informationabout attendingis availablefrom: BruceBeattie,POBox600, Numdah4012,Queensland, Australia.

-LearsMacaw In ournextissuewewill be discussingthecomplex situationsurroundingLear's Macaw.

(

, " .~~

,,'

Coxen's Fig Parrot (on right).

WPThasprovidedsubstantial fundsoverseveralyearsto supporttheworkof Or.Charles Munnin NEBrazil,whereLear's Macawlives,andweintendto keepthis fundinggoing. Lastyearour donationof $8000 wasusedtwice:first, to help establishthefinancialviability of BioBrasil,a newconservation foundationbasedin Salvador, Bahia(CharlieMunnhashelped createthis organisation), and thenit wasusedto provide protectionfor Lear'sMacaw. AnyfreshnewsaboutLear's, insideandoutsideof Brazil, wouldbeappreciated.

ThisillustrationisfromParrots- a GuidetoParrotsof theWorldbyTonyjuniperandMikeParr,bykindpermission of the publishers, PicaPress.

In connection with this convention, readersmaylike to knowaboutanexciting expeditionplannedto follow onfromit, organisedbyJoe Forshaw andtheCurrumbin Sanctuary in Queensland. Thiswill gofor four daysto theIronRangeNationalPark, whereit will bepossibleto seesuchbirdsasPalm Cockatoos, FigParrots, Eclectus Parrots,Magnificent Rtflebirdsetc.Please writefor moreinformationto: Iron RangeExpedition,Currumbin Sanctuary, Currumbin, Queensland 4223,Australia. Email:mail@currumbinsanctuary.org.au,

Fundraising Challenges

Wereceivequiteafew funding proposals eachyearfrom conservation biologistsand others,andthesearereviewed byourscientificadvisory panel,whichconsistsof CharlesMunn,Andrew Greenwood, JoeForshaw and RogerWilkinson.Wedowhat wecanto helpwherever jystified,dependfl1g on.ol:!r financialposition.MosHy, however, ourdonationsare quitesmall,but experience showsthatwhenWPTmakesa contributionthisoften

encourages other organisations to chipin also. Currentlywearewrestling with thebiggestchallengewe haveeverundertaken,and that is to find £35,000 ($55,000)a yearfor three yearsto meetthecostof the EchoParakeetprogrammein Mauritius. Wehavepublishedseveral reportsin previousissuesof PsittaScene whichdescribethe importance,andthesuccess, of this trailblazing conservation effort.Thiswork is master-minded by Carl Jones,towhomwewill presentour 'CarolinaMedal'in Londonon September 24th. It'sinterestingto notethat whenWPTstartedhelping with theEcho,lessthan12 birdsexisted,andonlytbree females. At thetimeof writingwehave raisedonly £24,000,halfof it donatedbyTheParrotSociety, to WhOlllWe, JerseyWildlife Preservation TrUstandthe MauritianWildlifeFundareall mostgrateful.TheWorld ParrotTrustUKis providing £10000,andanother£2000 hasbeensubscribed. That leaves£11,000,or $18,000,to befoundby theendof 1998. A lot of money,but wemust havereaderswhowouldlike to beassociated with whatis

arguablytheworld'smost excitingandparrot conservation project.Please think hardaboutwhatyoumay beableto do personally,or by usingcontactswith sourcesof fundsfor conservation. Weall knowa fewwell-heeledpeople, andthis is a mostworthycause. Wecansupplya copyof thefull reportontheEchoProject,if this will helpfundraising efforts.Thanks.

A Lear'sMacawat BuschGardens,Florida.

AnadultEchoParakeet in thewild.

18 L

...

TIONAL

BookReview

by RosemaryLow

HANDBOOK OF THE BIRDS OF THE WORLD

greenareasthesumof thetwo.Foreach speciestherearenotesunderthe headingsof taxonomy, Sub-species and distribution,Habitat,Food,Breeding, Movements andStatusand Conservation. Redprint drawsone's attentionto thestatusVulnerable and Endangered. TheBibliography for each species,usuallyveryextensive, is oneof themostremarkable aspectsof the book.It allowstheseriousstudentto research furtherinformation.In total, Cockatoos andParrotsspanpages246 to 477.

Eachcolourplateshowsabout15 species;maleandfemaleillustrated whereappropriate. Theplateswere executed by 18artists.Theartisticstyle variessomewhat. Onecandistinguish HANDBOOKOFTHE BIRDSOF THE differentstyles.Someareexcellent; WORLD is a uniqueandextremely evidentlytheartistwasfamiliarwithat ambitiousseries.Whencomplete,every bird speciesin theworldwill havebeen leastsomeof thebirdsin life.The and described andillustrated.Thescopeand Africanparrots,andtheCaiques for example, areextremely qualityof eachvolumeis unparalleled. Pionopsitta, life-likeandajoy to lookat.In contrast, Thelatestvolume,volume4, is oneof greatinterestto aviculturists.It contains someof theHangingParrots,Kingsand othersAustralianparakeets remindone everyspeciesof Parrot,Pigeonand Turaco,alsoCuckoos andSandgrouse. of stretchedmuseumskins.Thecolours onsomeof thePyrrhuraConuresand Thisvolumecovers837speciesin its therotundformsrenderedsomespecies 679pages.TheCuckoos, for example, unrecognisable to myeyes. cover33pageswrittenbyAustralianIan Rowley, andtheParrots202pages(from Thetextfor eachspeciesis good brief.SomesubOrNigelCollarof Birdlife).Theformatis although,of necessity, for asfollowsfor eachorderof birds,using specieshavebeenre-named; example, theGreaterPatagonian Conure theParrotsasanexample. Thereare23 (Cyanoliseus patagonus byroni)becomes pagesof introductorytextcontaining24 c.p.bloxami.TheGermanspeciesnames photographs in theCuckoosectionand shouldhavebeencheckedbya German59pageswith67photographs in the speakingperson;therearequiteafew parrotsection.Therearesome mistakes. outstanding photographs: Stephen Dalton'sScarletMacawin flight,and However, thesecomparatively minor RolandSeitre's TahitiBlueLoryat a pointsdonotdetractfromtheoverall bananapalm,arebreathtaking. Another valueof thismonumental work.It is Seitrephotoshowsa Blue-fronted quiteoutstanding andwill surelyremain Amazonemerging froma terrestrial a mostvaluablegeneralreference for termitemoundin whichit mayhave manyyearsto come.It is impressive to beennesting.Lessspectacular butso notethata tomeof this size,published appealing is GunterZiesler'sphotograph in December 1997,cancontainsomany of sixlittle MountainParakeets drinking references to paperspublishedin 1997. froma streamin theAndes.Without Quitea feat! exception, all thephotographs in the bookareexcellent(it is averitable Handbook of theBirdsof theWorld, volume4 (ISBN84-87334-22-9) is treasuryof photosof birdsin thewild). Theintroductorypagesarefollowedby publishedbyLynxEdicionsof Barcelona in association withBirdLife thosein whichall thespecies are described andillustrated.Thereis a International. It costsÂŁ110,andcanbe obtainedfrom:St.Ann'sBooks,at Gt. distributionmapfor eachone.Blue Malvern,WR143DR.Tel:01684562818. areasshowthenon-breeding rangeand

L7blllEdlclons

Hope,

PQirrots - tn t e Wi

Blue& GoldMacaw Araararauna

Weareindebtedto CharlieMunnfor this inspiringshotof a pair of BlueandGoldmacawsflying to a clay-licknearTambopata, Peru. Thisspeciesis still relativelynumerousin manypartsof its enormous distributionarea,whichis equalled,amongthemacaws, onlybytheGreen-winged macaw. Likeothersof thelargerparrots,theBlueandGoldMacawis still

huntedfor thepotin someareas,andis subjectto trappingfor the pettrade.Forexample,Guyanastill allowsa quotaof thesebirdsto beexported,andmanyhundredsstill comeinto theUKeachyear. Thisis regrettable,whenoneconsidersthat this speciesis easily bredin captivity,andseemsto standup to a domesticlife better thanmost.

Printed by Brewers of He/ston. Te/:01326 558000